Saturday, February 19, 2011

Cards That Never Were #42

1968 Topps - Giants Rookies

Only twenty teams existed in the Major Leagues in 1968. With those odds, you would think that every team would have a rookies card in the 1968 Topps set. Think again.

The Giants were without a rookies card in 1968, even though they had at least four viable candidates. All four of those possible rookies card candidates had more than a cup of coffee career. Three of those player's careers were over by the early seventies, but one played until 1981. That player would be Bobby Bonds.

Bobby would end up hitting over 300 home runs and steal over 400 bases in his 14 year career. While there's no crystal ball in knowing what rookies are capable of doing what in their career, Bobby's wasn't exactly under the radar. He had already hit 67 home runs in three years, at two different levels in the minor leagues, before the 1968 season. He started 1968 in AAA Phoenix and started tearing up the Pacific Coast League with a .370 average, which resulted in being called up.

Hindsight is 20/20, but this almost seems like a no-brainer. This is Bobby Bonds' second appearance in this series.